# Less Than Evil

Less Than Evil (Korean: 나쁜 형사; RR: Nappeun Hyeongsa) is a 2018 South Korean television series based on the British series Luther. It stars Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Seol, Park Ho-san and Kim Gun-woo. It aired on MBC from December 3, 2018 to January 29, 2019.

## Synopsis

The drama centers on the ongoing psychological battle between a brilliant psychopathic murderer and a hot headed, justice-driven Detective Chief Inspector.

## Cast
### Main

* Shin Ha-kyun as Woo Tae-suk
    A tough and unscrupulous detective with the highest arrest rate, a character based on DCI John Luther.
* Lee Seol as Eun Sun-jae/Bae yeo-wool
    A female psychopath based on antagonist Alice Morgan.
* Park Ho-san as Jeon Choon-man
    A leading detective in the metropolitan area who is at odds with Woo Tae-suk
* Kim Gun-woo as Jang Hyung-min
    A serial killer who pretends to be a prosecutor and Woo Tae-suk's greatest enemy based on serial killer Tom Marwood.

### Supporting

* Cha Sun-woo as Chae Dong-yoon
    A straight-as-an-arrow detective who graduated early from the police academy based on Luther's partner DS Justin Ripley.
* Bae Da-bin as Shin Ga-young
    A prickly police officer based on DCI Erin Gray.
* Bae Yoo-ram as Ban Ji-deuk
    An expert in IT programming who sets up her own detective agency based on DS Benny Silver.
* Yoon Hee-seok as Jo Doo-jin
    The head of the PR department at the police station and Woo Tae-suk's best friend based on John Luther's best friend DCI Ian Reed.
* Yang Ki-won as Lee Moon-ki
    A policeman on Woo Tae-suk's team
* Kim Na-yoon as Team Leader Sung
    The head of forensic investigative team based on Luther's bosses DSU Rose Teller and DSU Martin Schnek.
* Hong Eun-hee as Kim Hae-joon
    A lawyer and Woo Tae-suk's wife based on John Luther's wife Zoe Luther.
* Cho Yi-hyun as Bae Yeo-wool
    A victim of a case that Woo Tae-suk cannot forget
* Bae Yoon-kyung as Woo Tae-hee
    Woo Tae-suk's sister
* Ryu Tae-ho as Choi Jung-woo
    A timid head detective who is indecisive. He works with Jeon Choon-man
* Kim Yi-kyung as Kwon Soo-ah

### Special appearances

* Ahn Nae-sang as Commissioner general.

## Production

The actress Lee Seol was chosen among 300 others who auditioned for the role of Eun Sun-jae to play the female lead.
The first script reading was held in early September, 2018 with the attendance of cast and crew at the MBC in Sangam-dong.

## Ratings

* In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
* NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.
* N/A denotes that the rating is not known.
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | AGB Nielsen | AGB Nielsen | TNmS |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide |
| 1 | December 3, 2018 | 7.1% (15th) | 8.1% (9th) | 6.5% |
| 2 | December 3, 2018 | 8.3% (9th) | 9.2% (6th) | 8.5% |
| 3 | December 4, 2018 | 8.6% (9th) | 9.8% (6th) | 8.2% |
| 4 | December 4, 2018 | 10.6% (6th) | 11.5% (5th) | 9.7% |
| 5 | December 10, 2018 | 7.4% (13th) | 8.1% (9th) | 6.9% |
| 6 | December 10, 2018 | 9.1% (9th) | 10.0% (5th) | 9.1% |
| 7 | December 11, 2018 | 7.3% (13th) | 8.0% (8th) | 6.2% |
| 8 | December 11, 2018 | 8.7% (6th) | 9.5% (5th) | 7.3% |
| 9 | December 17, 2018 | 7.1% (14th) | 7.8% (11th) | 6.2% |
| 10 | December 17, 2018 | 8.5% (9th) | 9.4% (6th) | 7.2% |
| 11 | December 18, 2018 | 7.6% (11th) | 8.5% (8th) | 6.6% |
| 12 | December 18, 2018 | 8.7% (7th) | 9.6% (4th) | 8.3% |
| 13 | December 24, 2018 | 6.6% (16th) | 6.8% (16th) | 6.1% |
| 14 | December 24, 2018 | 8.5% (9th) | 8.9% (7th) | 7.7% |
| 15 | December 25, 2018 | 7.0% (14th) | 7.5% (13th) | 6.5% |
| 16 | December 25, 2018 | 8.7% (8th) | 9.4% (6th) | 7.7% |
| 17 | January 7, 2019 | 5.4% (NR) | 6.4% (15th) | 4.8% |
| 18 | January 7, 2019 | 5.7% (19th) | 6.4% (15th) | 5.2% |
| 19 | January 8, 2019 | 5.7% (NR) | — | 5.4% |
| 20 | January 8, 2019 | 5.9% (NR) | 6.5% (20th) | 5.7% |
| 21 | January 14, 2019 | 5.6% (NR) | 6.1% (20th) | 4.7% |
| 22 | January 14, 2019 | 6.8% (15th) | 7.8% (13th) | 5.7% |
| 23 | January 15, 2019 | 5.6% (NR) | 6.2% (20th) | — |
| 24 | January 15, 2019 | 6.3% (17th) | 6.9% (15th) | — |
| 25 | January 21, 2019 | 5.4% (NR) | 6.2% (18th) | 4.4% |
| 26 | January 21, 2019 | 6.5% (17th) | 7.1% (15th) | 5.5% |
| 27 | January 22, 2019 | 3.9% (NR) | — | 3.6% |
| 28 | January 22, 2019 | 5.0% (17th) | 5.3% (17th) | 4.3% |
| 29 | January 28, 2019 | 5.7% (NR) | 6.2% (19th) | 4.8% |
| 30 | January 28, 2019 | 6.9% (13th) | 7.3% (13th) | 5.8% |
| 31 | January 29, 2019 | 5.7% (19th) | 6.0% (15th) | — |
| 32 | January 29, 2019 | 7.2% (11th) | 7.7% (10th) | 6.2% |
| Average | Average | 7.2% | — | — |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Shin Ha-kyun | Nominated |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | Drama of the Year | Less Than Evil | Nominated |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Miniseries | Shin Ha-kyun | Won |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Miniseries | Park Ho-san | Nominated |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Miniseries | Lee Seol | Nominated |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | Best New Actress | Lee Seol | Won |
| 2018 | 37th MBC Drama Awards | In Awe Award | Shin Ha-kyun | Won |
| 2019 | 55th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | Lee Seol | Nominated |